Employment & Labor

Under Vietnamese labour law, most risks faced by employers do not arise from policy itself, but from procedure. A decision to terminate an employment contract may be substantively justified yet still be declared unlawful simply because one procedural step was mishandled, potentially resulting in an obligation to reinstate the employee and pay compensation many times greater than the cost of getting the process right from the outset. Understanding and managing this layer of procedural risk is the core value that HM&P brings to employers.

We advise domestic enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises, ranging from representative offices with only a few employees to manufacturing plants with thousands of workers, throughout the entire employment relationship lifecycle: recruitment, development of policy frameworks, management and handling of sensitive situations, restructuring and termination. We represent employers and provide advice grounded in a practical understanding of how human resources functions operate, rather than merely citing statutory provisions.

Our Approach

For sensitive employment matters such as disciplinary action, termination of senior executives and large-scale workforce reductions, HM&P does not merely answer whether something can or cannot be done. We design a complete solution for the client, including a legally compliant procedure, a comprehensive evidentiary record, a negotiation strategy and contingency measures in the event of a dispute. The objective is to resolve the company’s operational issue with the lowest possible legal risk and minimal disruption to the organisation.

When developing employment policies, we prepare documents not merely for registration or formal compliance, but so that they can be effectively relied upon when needed. Internal labour regulations form the legal foundation for every disciplinary decision, and inadequate internal labour regulations may leave an employer with virtually no lawful basis to address misconduct.

As a law firm with a strong practice in personal data protection, we also assist businesses in navigating the increasingly important intersection between workforce management and data protection law, from employee monitoring and the processing of recruitment data to cross-border transfers of employee data within multinational groups.

Scope of Services

• ​Employment contracts, probationary contracts, vocational training agreements and related arrangements;
• Internal labour regulations, collective bargaining agreements, and employment policies and procedures;
• Salaries, bonuses, benefits, working and rest hours, and day-to-day workforce management;
• Labour disciplinary action, material liability and termination of employment contracts, including cases involving senior executives;
• Workforce restructuring, redundancies and employment matters in M&A transactions, including due diligence, employee transfers and post-merger policy harmonisation;
• Confidentiality obligations, non-compete agreements and protection of trade secrets in employment relationships;
• Work permits, visas and all procedures relating to the employment of foreign workers in Vietnam;
• Protection of employees’ personal data in recruitment, management and cross-border data transfers;
• Workplace dialogue, relations with employee representative organisations and handling of collective work stoppages;
• Representation in negotiations, mediation and employment litigation before the courts, and engagement with regulatory authorities during labour inspections and examinations.